30 Roads to You
by Fenris13
Summary: Originally meant to be an iPod shuffle challenge, turned into Zutara songfic drabbles. Slight Maiko, slight Kataang, though mixed in with a lot of Zutara. Some AU. Some OOC.
1. Dawn's Ballet

Disclaimer : No, I do not own Avatar: the Last Air bender. If I did, the series would not end the way it did. And no, I do not own this song either (Dawn's Ballet from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Musical).

**Later Note: **Hi, Fenris here. It's been a while, almost a year, since I started this fic, and my writing style has changed, and, I think, improved some. Thus, while I will still be posting new installments of this fic over time, it will also slowly be rewritten so my writing in the first few chapters won't scare people off. ;)

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Katara dance around ineptly to the music for the ballet piece she was supposed to learn. After landing on her butt for the tenth time in the last five minutes, she sighed. "I'll never get this…" she mumbled.

"Sure you will," a low rasping voice told her from behind. "Here, I'll show you." Zuko came into her field of vision and helped her stand. "You're jumping too early. Use your momentum to help lift yourself into the jump…" Katara raised a brow at Zuko's apparent knowledge of ballet, but said nothing. He continued to help her with the dancing, occasionally blushing at the close proximity, especially when he held her around the waist. Soon, they stopped for the day.

"Come by tomorrow, and I'll help you some more," he offered. She nodded, turned, and started out the door. "Yeah, and maybe I'll help you with your terrible singing." It was his turn to blush—though she hadn't noticed it wasn't the first time he had done so that night.

Song: Dawn's Ballet from Buffy the Vampire Slayer Musical

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Yay! First fanfic! I know, I'm sinking to the level of the iPod shuffle challenge. I couldn't resist after seeing what had to be the fifteen thousandth one. Then I came upon a few songs that fit this series perfectly. And some I could morph and tweak to fit. Please Review!


	2. Float On

Disclaimer: Nope. None of this is mine. Sorry. Well, the story is mine, but, sadly, Avatar: the Last Airbender does not. And neither does the song.

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I backed up my car in the crowded parking lot, and swore when I felt and heard the _thud!_ of impact. I swore again when I saw who the car belonged to. Policeman Zuko. Not only was he a cop, he was my ex. He also seemed to enjoy situations like this—with him in the driver's seat, so to speak. I saw Zuko get out of his car, take off his helmet, and run a hand through his sexy—shaggy, shaggy black hair. There was a reason there was the ex in ex-boyfriend. Helmet under his arm, he came down to my window to peer in. He raised his eyebrows, feigning surprise. Damn him. He knew this was my car.

"Is there a problem_ officer_?" I set through gritted teeth. He chuckled.

"Well, that depends on whether or not backing into me is something you consider as a problem, Katara."

"For a police officer, yes, that's a problem. For you? Not so much." He laughed, then got close enough to touch my nose to his.

"Well then, it's a good thing it's me." He whispered. I blinked my wide eyes a few times. Might as well go with the flow.

"Y-yeah…" And that's when he kissed me, I got back with my ex (Sorry Aang), and got away with bumping into a police officer.

Song: Float On by Modest Mouse

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Yes, next chapter typed up. Woot. Please review! Any and all criticism is welcome!


	3. Does my Ring burn Your Finger

Disclaimer: Still nothing. Sorry.

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Mai squinted at her ex husband, Zuko, from across the small coffee shop, and saw the brown-skinned, brown-haired, blue-eyed beauty clasping his hand with her own.

So.

_That_ was the reason for their divorce. One little promise he couldn't keep. At least he didn't dishonor her or himself by cheating on her with that, that…husband-stealing skank! She closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. Zuko kissed his new wife, both too sickeningly happy for Mai's stomach to handle.

She left, wondering, if she looked closely enough, would she see burn marks from her wedding band that used to adorn his finger.

Song: Does my Ring burn Your Finger by Lee Ann Womack

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Heh. Jealous Mai. Yes, next song finished! Please review [INSERT WITTY REMARK HERE]!


	4. Misery Business

Disclaimer: I still do not own Avatar:the Last Airbender. :(

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Katara twitched as she watched Zuko laughing with Mai. She was _that_ close. She was about to ask him out, when Mai came over in her little slutty outfit, and caught him by the mouth. He was _hers_, damn it. She had worked for him. And then Mai just snagged him. Oh, just watch. Mai will be sorry.

* * *

After eight long months of stalking—_watching_ Mai and Zuko, she saw and heard them break up.

"I'm _sorry_ Zuko, but, I don't think this relationship is going anywhere…" Mai was saying. She just didn't realize how amazing he was. She was always so bored with him. Not a very fiery relationship.

"Oh, so, the one you're having with Haru _is?_" She perked up. That was brand new information. Mai was cheating. Mai rolled her eyes. "Zuko, that was a one - night stand. _That_ is certainly going nowhere." It was Katara's turn to roll her eyes. Yeah, right. Zuko apparently agreed, in a sense.

"Sure, sure. And the next time? And the next? _That _won't turn into anything, especially since you never even take the time to pay attention to anyone's problems but your own." Oh, I could feel the heat from that burn from my perch. That must sting. Mai narrowed her eyes.

"Maybe I would pay attention if they weren't so whiney. Besides, you never listened to _my_ problems either." I lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? Maybe you should take your own advice. People might listen to you if you listened more, and complained about _everything_ less." Score: Zuko: 1, Mai: 0. Zuko turned on his heel, and left Mai standing on her porch with her eyes narrowed, and hands on her bare hips. In my head, I fist-punched the air. In reality, I climbed down the tree I was in, and made my way home.

* * *

"Hey Zuko."

"Hey Katara."

"You okay? You're just kind of sulking in the corner. You know, more than usual?"

"Har har."

"My girlfriend dumped me."

"Aww. You'll be okay? "

"Yeah. I'll be fine."

"Hey, don't worry. She was a whore anyways."

"I guess…. Ow! Hey! What was that for?!"

"Snap out of it. And I don't think so, I know so. 'I guess', what kind of crap is that? Anyone who treats my friends like that is a whore. End of story."

"Kay'... Um, Katara?"

"Yeah?"

"You can stop hugging me now."

"Oh! Sorry."

"It's fine."

"Are you sure, cause' you know, you're not really happy right now, what with Mai, and I'm just probably making it worse, and maybe we should go do something to cheer you up, like see a movie, get ice cream, or—"

"Katara? You're babbling."

"Am I? Huh, I never realized I did that, it doesn't usually happe—Mmph!"

He kissed her.

* * *

She smiled as she walked through the mall, Zuko's arm around her waist, Mai glaring daggers at her across the vast food court where she sat with her friends, Ty Lee and Azula. It wasn't her intention to brag, but God, It just felt so good.

Song: Misery Business by Paramore

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Yesss…vindictive Katara, and more jealous Mai! Please review! I'm on a roll… (Natural 20!)


	5. Bad Reputation

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Avatar: the Last Air bender. *tear Nor do I own this song.

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Katara raced through the streets of the Fire Nation capital, a huge grin plastered on her face.

"STOP, thief!"

She was the leader of a gang, the Freedom Fighters, after the old one, Jet, had left. They _lived_ to make trouble. Always stealing things from the occasional merchant or vendor a little too well off for their own good. Most of the time, they gave what they stole to the people with little, or nothing. Any other time, it was because they themselves didn't have any food or money. Katara dodged through the crowd as a group of guards came running after her. She had a bad reputation as thief, and her poster was all over the capital. Not that she really gave a damn. She ran into a small alley and waterbent a hole in the wall for her to get through, than sealed it up behind her with ice, freezing some bricks in place to hide her escape hole. Now the guards wouldn't have the faintest clue where she was.

She ran through the alleyways until she came to the hole leading to their hideout, underneath one of the noblemen's' houses. She came out of the passageway into a large cavern where they had set up shop.

"HEY!" She called out. "Guess what I've got!" Her gang all came running up to her from where they were strewn about the cavern. She held up the large bundle she had managed to steal.

"What is it, Kat?" the rasping voice of Smellerbee sounded from the crowd as her second-in-command pushed her way to the front of the horde. Katara grinned. She opened up the bundle, and showed her gang. A large amount of gold was inside the clothe sack she had taken from a vault in a nobleman's' home. "Looks like we can pay the rent!" They all laughed. The 'rent' as she put it, was what they gave to the poor of the capital.

"Then let's pay them a visit." Smellerbee said.

After Katara and Smellerbee had anonymously spread some the gold to the poor, they went back to the hideout, bringing plenty of food to celebrate. After all that, they still had gold left.

"Here's to Katara!"

"KATARA!" The entire of her gang cheered her. She smiled in gratitude.

"Well, I couldn't rob all of the Fire Nation blind without the help of my fantastic gang, now could I? Here's to all of us!" She raised her own wooden cup. Cheers sounded throughout the cavern, and caused Katara to wonder, not for the first time, why the nobleman and his residents did not realize, or acknowledge their presence.

* * *

Little did she know, that one resident certainly had realized their presence, and was reminded of it once again once that cheer sounded underneath his floor. Zuko rubbed his temples. At this rate, his headache would manifest. Couldn't that gang keep quiet for _one_ night? Katara this, Katara that, he decided that one day would have to meet the infamous Katara who was the head of the loud and obnoxious gang. Apparently, they did not realize that they were underneath the _Fire Palace_. Maybe then, they would be quieter once in a while.

* * *

Katara sighed. At this rate, they wouldn't have enough money to stay fed for the next month. That money she had stolen was vanishing quickly as they refurbished their hideout. She hadn't had to steal anything for a while now, but she kept sending out parties to get food, pocket money and the like. She would have to stage another large job to keep them going. She had to steal from the Fire Palace.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this, Katara? What if you get caught?" Smellerbee was helping her with her things.

"Don't worry, I won't get caught. I'm the leader of the Freedom Fighters, right? I can't get caught. I'm the only waterbender in the Fire Nation." She slipped on her black mask that covered the top half of her face. "What's the worst that could happen?" And with that, she was off.

Katara approached the western wall of the palace, braid swinging behind her. She thought for a moment, but never broke stride. She froze hooks out of ice, and attached them to her gloved hands thin black shoes. She quickly scampered up the wall, and vaulted over the side, never seen. She quickly melted the ice, and bent it back into her pouch, continuing around the palace. She slowly crept around until she found a window. She refroze her hooks, and began climbing. When she reached the window, she peered in. A scarred face peered back. She nearly had a heart attack.

Her wide blue eyes peered into yellow ones through the window pane. She nearly lost her grip as it slid open.

"Might I ask what you are doing here?" said a rasping voice that sounded nothing like Smellerbee's'. HIs was more masculine. "Um…" He continued to stare at her, waiting patiently for her answer. "I'm…I'm your new window washer!" She some of her water around her hand, and started to whistle, rubbing the window, not cleaning any of the nonexistent dirt at all. She faltered mid-whistle when he raised an eyebrow, as if to say, _is that really the best you could come up with?_

"…No? Not buying it?" She sighed. "Yeah, I didn't think so."

Song: Bad Reputation by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

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Yes. The classic fake window washer. I had to. Please don't hate me. Please Review!


	6. Do Re Mi

Disclaimer: No, I _still_ don't own Avatar. Dag nab it. I do not own this song either.

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"Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do. Repeat." Katara drilled Zuko. She was trying to teach him how to sing. And failing miserably. For the past month, had had been helping her dance, and she was finally adept, putting that waterbender instinct to use. He cleared his throat.

"Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do…?" She cringed, and then sighed. "Alright. Let's start at the very beginning. Do…" she held the note, and motioned him to attempt to match the pitch, waving up or down depending on the frequency. After some time—some agonizingly painful time—they stopped for water.

"Goodness, Zuko. I thought that, as a firebender, you would be _good_ at vocals." She took a swig from her pouch. He glared at her. "Oh, gee, and here I was thinking you would have a good sense of rhythm, you know, since you're a waterbender? Guess not." She laughed, spraying water as she did. She stood over him and crossed her arms. "Just because I waterbend doesn't mean my sense of rhythm corresponds with my dancing." He stood and leaned in, almost nose to nose, toe to toe.

"And just because I'm a firebender doesn't mean I'm good at singing."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"But you know…"

"What?"

"I'd be willing to bet you have excellent lung capacity.

He blinked. "Huh?" She wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

Turns out, he has amazing lung capacity.

Song: Do-Re-Mi from The Sound of Music

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Who's the bomb? I am. Who just finished a two part story? I did. Please Review!


	7. Girlfriend

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. I didn't five minutes ago, I won't five minutes into the future, and I don't own the song.

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Katara glanced at Mai. She really didn't like Mai. Well, that wasn't exactly true. She didn't like Mai in that she was Zuko's girlfriend. Otherwise, she was a truly likable…well, actually, even besides the fact she was Zuko's girlfriend, she didn't really like Mai. She whined, complained, and was always brooding. He obviously needed a new girlfriend—the relationship he has with Mai was becoming stale. And, of course, Katara thought she was the perfect candidate. Besides, she knew he liked her. As much as he could deny it, it wasn't a secret. She saw the way he looked at her. And besides, even when he looked away, she knew he thought of her.

* * *

Ty Lee walked over to Azula from across the classroom, and whispered something in her ear. Azula's eyes lit up, and her face morphed into mischievous glee. Azula then walked over to Aang, and whispered the same something in his ear. He looked a little hurt, but accepting. He walked over to Sokka, and whispered in his ear. "He likes _who_ now?" He said, disbelieving. Aang shushed him, and pointed to the group of Sokka's admirers. He rolled his eyes, and sighed. He whispered in Suki's ear the mysterious message. She smiled, and whispered in Yue's ear. They both squealed and rushed over to Toph. They excitedly whispered in her ear. Toph raised her eyebrows. Zuko, who had watched the entire exchange with horrific fascination, was seated next to Toph. She looked over at him, saying, "So Sparky, you like Katara?" Zuko slapped his palm into his forehead.

* * *

Katara smiled. She walked over to Zuko, who was sitting on one of the bleachers in the gym. "So, I hear you broke up with Mai."

"Yeah." She lifted her eyebrows and sat down next to Zuko. "May I be so bold as to ask why?" He looked at her.

"Mai was uncaring, and unresponsive. She always complained. And on top of that, I realized there was someone else I like more." Katara looked at him expectantly. "Who?" she whispered.

"You." He kissed her.

* * *

The next day, Zuko had a new girlfriend. Talk about rebound.

Song: Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne

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I'm sorry! I'm sorry! But I had to. I know, I'm evil. Bad, bad Fenris. Please Review!


	8. I Want to Hold Your Hand

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, and neither do I own this song. But I do own this adorable story, a chainsaw, and I could probably find your address.(Jk, don't worry--I don't actually own a chainsaw :D)

* * *

He fidgeted.

He twitched.

He tripped.

He couldn't help it.

He wanted to hold her hand.

When he told her he would be there for her, he wanted to hold her hand.

When he said he was scared, he wanted to hold her hand.

When he said I'll save you from the pirates, he wanted to hold her hand.

When he said I love you, he wanted to hold her hand.

Katara sighed when Zuko tripped for what had to be the twentieth time that day, and grabbed his hand.

"C'mon." He smiled.

Song: I Want to Hold Your Hand by the Beatles

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Aww... I love adorableness. Please Review!


	9. Can't Help Falling in Love

Disclaimer: A:TLA and this song are in no way shape or form mine. However, I _do_ take the blame for writing this devastatingly cute songfic. I'll take the bullet for this one, guys.

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Zuko looked at Katara. Yup. It still happened. It seemed every time he saw her, his heart rate sped up, he couldn't form a coherent statement, and his face flushed. As much as Uncle told him, "Don't rush in headfirst, like an angry Komodo Rhino, Prince Zuko," He couldn't help it. He was falling in love. With Katara.

Katara looked at Zuko. Yup. He was still staring. And yup. It still happened. It seemed every time she saw him, her heart rate sped up, she couldn't form a coherent statement, and her face flushed. As much as Gran-Gran had told her, "Don't rush in like an angry Polar bear-dog, ask Sokka what he was thinking first," She couldn't help it. She was falling in love. With Zuko. The person who _tied her to a tree_.

Song: Can't help Falling in Love by A*Teens

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Yes! Repetition! Sweet, sweet repetition! Sorry about the delay--they wouldn't let anyone sign in because they were being poopy-heads. Please Review!


	10. That's How You Know

Disclaimer: A:TLA does not belong to me. This song does not belong to me. This little story, however, does.

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"Well, how does she know?"

"What?"

"You love Needles, right?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"So how does she know?"

"She just does."

"Oh. Well, have you done anything to prove you love her?"

"Um..."

"Sparky! Girls want to have confirmation! Don't take love for granted!"

"Yeah? So what should I do?"

"I don't know! Sugar Queen knows more about this than me!"

"K-Katara? B-but she hates me! She won't give me help!"

"Ugh. Fine. First off, flowers. Girls like flowers. Next, little notes, telling her she's on your mind, or poetry expressing your love. Dancing, dedicating songs to her, wearing clothing the color of her eyes. Be creative. Do things that would attract _her_."

"Okay...anything else?"

"Sorry, that's all I got Sparky."

"Thanks Toph."

The next day, Katara found a bouquet of panda lily's, a small poem, and a copy of a love song with elegant writing at the bottom saying, _For Katara _on her bed. Toph smiled. She had been wondering why Zuko had been lying when he said he loved Mai.

Song: That's how You Know from the movie Enchanted

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I think I am going to explode from all the fluff in this Fanfiction. I will get sugar high, and tear down the studio in which they decided that Kataang and Maiko was canon. Please Review!


	11. You Belong to Me

Disclaimer: Nope. ATLA isn't mine. The other day, I read a fanfic disclaimer that was awesome. it went along the lines of, _roses are red, violets are blue, this no mine, so you no sue_. Funny, how, that isn't mine either.

* * *

Zuko looked Katara straight in the face.

"I don't care what you see, what you hear, who you see, or what you think about them, you should know, that regardless of what happens or how far you travel, You belong to me."

*oOo*

_"...You belong to me..."_

The words bounced around in Katara's head as she sat on Appa's saddle. She had been very shocked when Zuko said that. After he said that, and Aang and Sokka had to drag her onto Appa, she sat dazed for a while. Once she shook out of her stupor, she crossed her arms, and expected a circular band of metal, preferably with a small gemstone welded to it, when they got back to the Fire Nation.

She sent him souvenirs and postcards. She sent him one of the North Pole. She sent him one from the Western Air Temple. She sent him one from the swamps. She sent him one from Ba Sing Se. She sent him one from Kyoshi Island. She sent him one from the South Pole. She sent him one from a place called Whale Island. She sent him one from the Eastern Air Temple. She handed him one from the Fire Nation Capital.

"You belong to me, too."

Song: You Belong to Me by Jason Wade

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Sorry for the lack of updates! And the lack of updates on SoB...My bad. I've been a lazy lazy person, and tonight I have ultimate Frisbee, so I won't be able to work on it, but I promise an update on it tomorrow night at the latest!!! But yeah. And I really like this one (see above). It's cute. Please Review!


	12. Stairway to Heaven

Disclaimer: Neither ATLA is mine, nor this song. This amazing song is by Led Zeppelin, because they are awesome. AWESOME I SAY!!! But the story is mine.

* * *

Mai was going to buy a stairway to heaven. Not literally, of course. She was going to get what she wanted. She would rise to the highest position possible in the Fire Nation available to women. She would become Fire Lady.

Of course, to do that, she had to make Zuko, the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, love her. She started at the bottom. the first step. Childhood crush. Make sure he knew she 'liked' him–and also befriend the cruel Fire Nation princess Azula as a plan 'B'; never know if things could go wrong between the Prince and herself.

With that accomplished, she turned to the next step. Unattached liking. She was interested. sure, but not enough to act on it. Make him come to her. She was halfway up the stairs when Zuko went and got himself banished. There goes the easy way up–now she had to work on her relationship with Azula. Azula would become the ruler of the Fire Nation if Zuko never came back, being her best friend was not quite the same as Fire Lady, but it was as high as she would be able to go without actually being Fire Lady. She could work with this.

But Zuko came back, and the original plan was back on. However, he was thinking about someone else, some other little hussy. She knew it was a woman, not the Avatar as everyone seemed to think. This was not acceptable. She would have to work to banish that woman from his mind.

As soon as that was taken care of, and she was sure he wasn't thinking about that girl, he went and left her. He left! No doubt, Mai had been mistaken, and he was returning to _her_. She knew this because he had broken up with her. Through a _letter_ of all things. After a long while, he finally came crawling back to her after the final battle. She glared at him.

"_Never_ break up with me again." She told him. He nodded meekly. Good. She was the one wearing the pants in the relationship. He wore the silly pointy shoes. She told him to make her a sandwich. She was hungry.

And then he proposed. After several years, he proposed. She acted flattered, and excited. Little did he know that she was rejoicing because her climb was almost finished.

It was a month before the wedding. She was bubbling with excitement, which more Mai, meant she smiled her toothless smile. All the time. Once, she even showed some of her teeth. Her ladies in waiting were nearly frightened to death, and Zuko would have peed his pants if he wasn't in his twenties. But, to spoil the great mood Mai was enjoying, _she_ came back. The old ember between them, Zuko and the woman, flared up, renewed. Time had done nothing to extinguish it.

And Mai was dumped. The engagement was broken. Her stairway to heaven shattered underneath her, and blew away on the whispering wind. She watched as Katara, the brat who had travelled with the avatar, who Zuko had chased around the world, became Fire Lady. She had stolen Mai's Stairway to Heaven.

Song: Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin

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See? Truly epic song. Especially if you went to youtube, and looked it up. Now, there is a line in there that I used that truly belongs to deviantART user 050108. Its called The one true Zutara, in case you wanted to search for it, since I can't post link/address here. I should post it on my profile, but I'm too lazy. It's hilarious. And I know, I used Mai in place of Katara, but it had to be done. Zuko keeps getting into relationships with aggressive, controlling women. Please Review!


	13. Anniversary

Disclaimer: ATLA isn't mine. Neither is this song, which is, by the way, one of the sweetest and most adorable songs I know. Especially because it's by an artist who writes some of the _most_ disturbing songs I know of. Seriously. The lyrics are so creepy, it's one of the artists I listen to for the music, not the lyrics, or message they are sending. Look some of them up. They are _messed up._ Wow, this is a long disclaimer. This story belongs to me, btw.

* * *

The Sages were wrong. They said Katara would corrupt the line, would be wrong for the country, would grow to hate him. She was too different. The Sages were wrong. They said it was only an infatuation, her beauty would fade, the distance between them and their countries would only grow. The Sages were wrong.

If the line was corrupted, why was their son beautiful, a prodigy? If she was wrong for the country, why did the people love her; why did she resolve every issue she came across peacefully and efficiently? If she had grown to hate him, why had she grown to love him even more than she had before, something he had thought impossible? Simple. The Sages were wrong.

The infatuation was revealed to be a deep, well-rooted love that had started when he saw her, strengthened when he tied her to a tree (they still laugh about that) and saved her from the pirates, tested under Ba Sing Se, and totally accepted when he took the lightening for her. Her beauty didn't fade; in his eyes at least, she was more beautiful than ever. The gap between them and their countries was completely sealed shut; there could never be a stronger alliance than the Fire Nation and the Water Tribes—except, maybe, theirs.

The Sages were wrong. Especially since this was their 50th Anniversary.

Song: Anniversary by Voltaire

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Awww! Sweet, sweet adorableness! I loved writing this.

Okay, I am _really_ sorry. And a liar. I said two days ago I would have the next chapter of SoB finished by yesterday night at the latest, and, well, I lied. That chapter is taking longer than I thought. It is _so_ hard to write. dlksfjghfjdksa. Bleh. Please Review!


	14. She's in Love with the Boy

Disclaimer: ATLA is not mine, but this story is, and so is my dog. My big black dog. That would rip out your throat if you plagiarized. (Joking—she'd rip off your head) :D

* * *

Katara sat on the ice block in front of her igloo in the small South Pole village. Penguin-seals played with fish remains in the middle of the 'road'.

When an out of place ostrich-horse came bouncing up on the horizon, Katara shot up, her face lit up in excitement. Her boyfriend Zuko was coming up the 'road', splashing through the dirtier snow.

"Bye Sokka! By Gran-Gran! I'm going on my date!"And with that she ran off to the ostrich-horse, her boyfriend sitting and smiling, and heaved herself on.

As they raced away, leaving Sokka and Gran-Gran on the porch, Sokka grumbled.

"Gran-Gran, why is Katara dating that kind of guy? Angsty Fire Prince with an honor-complex is _not_ the kind of person I see my sister with. Besides, he used to chase us! He was trying to capture the world's last hope for peace! He isn't worth a lick! In fact, when it comes to brains, I think he got the melting end of the icicle if you know what I mean…"

Gran-Gran just flicked the back of his head.

"She's in love with the boy."

*oOo*

Katara sat in Zuko's lap, her head on his chest, and his arms around her waist as they watched the penguin-seals play.

"Zuko…" She half-opened her eyes.

"Hmm?" He opened his own eyes and looked down at her face.

"I love you." He blinked. She just sat and smiled, simply content in telling him, not exactly expecting the reply she got. "I love you too."

It was her turn to blink, her face tight in surprise, but it soon relaxed as a large grin spread across her face. "Good…" And she slipped into sleep, comforted by the intense warmth of his body.

On their way to Katara's settlement, where they would stop before he went to his camp by his ship, he slipped something on her finger, jostled a little by the gait of the ostrich-horse.

"I'm afraid the Fire Lord's seal will have to do until I can go back to find a suitable wedding band."

She began to cry, and turned awkwardly in the saddle to hug Zuko with all she was worth, nearly crushing his ribs, and making the ice crack around them.

*oOo*

"Katara. Igloo. Now." Sokka pointed behind him at her igloo. She reluctantly let go of her fiancé's hand, and headed for her igloo, humming and skipping.

Sokka glared at her retreating form, and then turned to Zuko. As he opened his mouth to talk to Zuko the lateness of the hour, when Gran-Gran came out of her own igloo, and thwacked him on the back of the head.

"Gran-Gran!"

"Sokka, you have no right to patronize Zuko."

"But—"

"You acted just like this when Suki came to visit."

"Gran-Gran! Don't bring Suki into this!"

"Suki's father said the same things about you that you have been saying about Zuko."

"But—"

"No buts!"

She grabbed his ear, and led him away, Sokka protesting the entire time.

This left Zuko where he had been, watching the entire exchange with fascination, and a mixture of growing respect and fear for Katara's grandmother.

Song: She's in Love with the Boy by Trisha Yearwood

* * *

O.o

Sorry about the lateness *cringes* don't hate me for not updating in *cough*a*cough*month*cough**cough*. This one was not my favorite, and the typed version has a LOT of editing from the original I wrote down in my fan fiction journal thing. This one is a lot better. Please Review!


	15. Damned If I Do Ya

Due to the author's supreme loathing of this chapter, it has been taken out, and will not return until she gets around to it. Thank you for your time. Please move on.

Yeah, so this chapter was so lame, that I decided to take it out. I wasn't appy with it, and I take back what I said about liking it better than the previous one. This one is just too hideous for words. honestly, I just took the part of the song I liked, and warped it to my sick and twisted desires. It was crap. Sorry about this! I'll get on with the next installment eventually...


	16. Love Story

Disclaimer: ATLA isn't…I think you already get the point. This song isn't mine, and a few lines were taken directly from the song, but the story was derived of my own sweat, blood, and imagination. And the carpal tunnels.

* * *

_Katara was standing on a balcony in the Fire Palace. She was wearing a beautiful ballgown, explained by the dance going on inside_

_She sighed._

_This was supposed to be fun, she was supposed to dance with all the well-off men from the rich and old families._

_Sorry Dad, but it's kind of hard to find the men you've chosen when they all have masks on. Did we have to do this at a _Masquerade_ ball?_

_She really didn't mind though—her father might be displeased, but she wasn't as shallow as other nobles to be content with a lot of money and a big house, despite what they all believed._

_She turned and watched as people danced inside, where it was much stuffier—especially in the summer air._

_She tried to breathe through the corset her father had insisted upon her wearing._

_She had only gotten used to the Fire Nation heat—they had only been there three years. Now her father had her wearing something to _further_ hinder her ability to breathe._

_She fanned herself with her ice blue fan, gripped her dark blue waist, and recovered from the latest wave of vertigo that made her head spin._

_Suddenly, the crowd parted somewhat for a young man in a half-mask in the shape of a faceless sun, with small, small slits for eyes._

_He smiled._

_She was wearing a moon mask that revealed the top left half of her face, and stopped right above her mouth in the shape of a crescent._

"_Hello." She blinked._

"_H-Hello." He bowed, and held out a hand. Music from the vast ballroom could be heard faintly, and it took her a few moments to realize he was offering to dance with her._

"_Oh!" She took his hand, and he swept her into a dancing posture as his other hand slid around her waist expertly. Somehow she knew that the wave of vertigo and the dizziness that came was not from her corset._

_Blue eyes stared into yellow, white contrasted on brown, for the remainder of the night…_

*oOo*

I opened my eyes, coming out of the flashback as a rock hit my window.

I smiled as I saw who it was.

Fire Prince Zuko, the young man behind the sun mask.

He ran a hand through his shaggy black hair—I had asked him to grow it out, he looked dorky with the ponytail—as he waited for me. I opened the window.

"You're late," I whispered. He turned towards the window and smiled.

"Royalty is never late, everyone else," he was climbing up the wall to my window by the ladder on my wall covered with greenery. When he reached the top he finished the statement.

"Is simply early." He gave me a kiss.

And that's when my father Hakoda called from around the corner.

"When I count to five, that boy had better be gone. One…" Zuko sighed, and began to climb down, and I began crying. It was like this every time. "Two…"

"Please…" I begged. "Please don't go." He gave a sad smile.

"Three…"

"I can't. I'll come back, just like I always do. I promise." I wiped my eyes.

"Just take me somewhere we can be alone, alright?"

He smiled, genuinely this time.

"Four…"

"Of course." And he was gone.

"Five!" Hakoda came around the corner.

The ladder was hidden and my window was closed. He grunted.

"Good. He better woo Katara _properly_. Then we can talk about 'visiting hours'." He chuckled at his own joke.

*oOo*

I snuck out to the garden of the Fire Palace one night. Zuko was waiting.

I ran into his arms, and started crying softly. We had to be quiet, getting caught was not an option. He just held me in his arms for a while.

"They keep telling me how I should feel about you, my life, everything." He lead his head on mine.

"Shh…shh…it's alright. Don't be afraid we'll make it out of this mess."

I stroked his scar and we kissed in the dark of the garden underneath the bright full moon.

I'm pretty sure Yue won't tell a soul.

*oOo*

I sighed and sat on my doorstep. He said he would pick me up at five. It was six. I began to cry. I had been doing that a lot lately.

*oOo*

I met right outside the city gates.

"Zuko save me, I've been feeling so alone. I keep waiting for you, but you never come," I looked down as he put his hands on my shoulders.

I continued. "Is this in my head? I don't know what to think…"

He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said, "Marry me Katara? You'll never have to be alone. I love you, and that's all I really know. I talked to your dad, you'll pick out a white dress, it's a love story baby just say—"

"Yes!" We grinned at each other as he slid the ring on my finger, then laughed as he picked me up, spun me around, and kissed me.

Song: Love Story by Taylor Swift

* * *

8D I so totally love this one so much—it was sitting in my journal possibly ever since I started this endeavor. This has to be one of my favorite ones I wrote. It's too cute for its own good. Too cute I say! I just have to say this--If you didn't knowwhat song it was when you read the last bit, that is just...wow. Just wow. But I can totally understand if this is one of those songs you just don't listen to. If not, please please please look it up. Please. Please Review!


	17. Apologize

Disclaimer: ATLA isn't mine(still) this song isn't mine(still) and don't have a million dollars(still). However, it is MY BIRTHDAY!!!! XDXDXDXDXD (October 13 2009)

* * *

"Zuko, wait!"

Katara ran after the retreating form of Zuko.

He stopped, but did not turn around as Katara stopped behind him, and the rain fell into their eyes.

"I…I just wanted to say…"

She trailed off.

"What?" He asked, his voice venomous.

"What? That apologizing would just make me come back? You kept me hanging, Katara. For eight years. And you thought I would accept that?"

"I did, until you said that."

"That's just it, isn't it? I didn't think for one moment,"

Zuko turned around to face her, yellow eyes blazing with fury.

"That it was too late to apologize, did you?"

She kept silent.

"Did you!"

He was yelling now.

"No."

Her answer was quiet, a murmur, a defeat.

"Just go, Katara."

He sounded defeated too.

With that defeat, Katara looked up into the golden eyes of her fire bender one last time, and turned around, and went back the way she came.

Tears fell from her face in a torrent, and she broke into a run, racing past Aang and Toph, dodging past the sympathetic looks on the faces of Sokka and Suki, and barreling through the undergrowth of the forest that seemed to cry with her in the form of rain and wind.

She had not been able to tell the difference between the rain on Zuko's face and tears that fell with it.

Song: Apologize by Timbaland

* * *

This is barf. I was just barfing out this idea because I have been wanting to do this song for so long, and I was going to have Mai be in the position Katara is in, but I decided I have happy Zutara, I have neutral Zutara, but I have no sad Zutara, so, here it is. Sad Zutara. No, I will not fix it like the inner fluff maniac inside me wants to, I will leave it the way it is, sad, broken, and alone. Please Reveiew! (Happyhappyhappyahappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappy Birthday to me!)


	18. Paparazzi

Disclaimer: I neither own this song nor A:TLA. But I own this witty comment! Oh wait…

* * *

Curious.

Curious indeed.

She didn't really know what she was going to do.

Her latest superstar had left her out in the dust, filing that pesky restraining order.

Goodness gracious.

Seriously, it's not like she screamed in his face or something.

But that was beside the point.

She needed a new obsession; otherwise, she got…antsy.

Started doing things she normally wouldn't consider.

So, as she sat at that little café on the corner of the street, stirring her coffee with extra cream, she saw something she became interested in.

A boy—a rather dorky looking boy, what with that ponytail—standing on the stage.

He was singing.

It was actually rather beautiful, the song, his voice, and his face.

His golden eyes were perfectly complemented by the hideous, almost-but-not-quite repulsive, angry red scar on the left side of his face.

She smiled as she stared.

Here was a young singer out to start his career in the vicious world of the famous.

And she would be the faithful to him until he either broke, or placed the restraining order.

So far, she had 42.

*oOo*

Curious.

Curious indeed.

As much as she wanted to, she just couldn't do it.

She could not sell the picture of them. It had no price.

This could be that he wasn't well known enough—his band, _Black Snow_, was only known in their local area.

She was in the small group of fan girls, ran the club and everything. She was the first to notice him, to adore him, to stare at him like he was a piece of meat…etcetera.

Oh well. She would wait until he was more well-known, then it would sell.

*oOo*

Curious.

Curious indeed.

She didn't really understand it, but after careful nudging, the ponytail came out and the sexy hair came in, and suddenly, he was attractive. Funny how much impact hair can have. Completely and totally changed his entire image. The leather and jeans didn't do anything bad for it either. Nothing bad at all.

She hadn't really thought of all of her previous pop stars quite like him. They had just been a good way to make money.

Of course, she acted the crazy fan girl, out to marry and have five billion children, but she was never really serious about that.

Except for now.

Huh.

Reporters had it the worst.

*oOo*

Curious.

Curious indeed.

There he was, surrounded by the crowd of reporters—the leeches dressed in jeans.

She was different.

Her relationships with her celebrities were more…symbiotic than parasitic.

He had gone from a nobody to a somebody in a matter of months.

And thanks to who? Thanks to her, of course.

She was there. She was always there. Shadowing his footsteps. Waiting backstage. Never revealing herself.

And she couldn't help it.

She loved him.

A freelance reporter, she sold her stories and pictures to whatever magazine, newspaper, or news station would buy for the highest price. And she was that good.

Normally, she would have shown herself long ago, getting as many pictures as possible in a go, getting as close as possible to the latest pop star, but something inside her couldn't do it.

She loved him.

She didn't want that 43rd restraining order.

She didn't want to face her 43rd rejection.

So she stayed behind.

She watched as he cycled through girlfriends, watched as everyone reported it except for her.

And she watched as he crashed and burned with each girl, apparently trying to please each one, and ending up never pleasing any.

*oOo*

Curious.

Curious indeed.

He was walking up to her, the strangest expression on his face.

It was an odd mixture of amusement, frustration, and longing.

And she thought she had hidden herself pretty well among this crowd of flashing lights and personal questions.

Apparently not.

"Why don't you come inside where it's quiet?"

She blinked.

"W-what?"

He just smiled and pushed her through the door of the club, around a corner, and into a broom closet.

Oh dear.

"That's better. Now, would you care to explain?"

She was completely lost.

"Explain what?"

"Explain why I seem to see you wherever I go? From where I started in that little coffee shop to here?"

"I'm a reporter, it's what I do."

"I think there's more to it than that. I think there is something else behind your motives than a good story and a few pictures."

She looked up and to the side, in a picture of innocence.

"Maaaybe…"

"Mmhm, that's what I thought. C'mon, there's more to it than that."

"Well, why should I add another girl confession of love to the ever-growing pile of girls already doing so?"

He just raised an eyebrow. She continued.

"Besides, it's not like we even know each other."

His smile grew a little larger.

"Your favorite color is red. You like your coffee with extra cream. You prefer the rain and the cold to hot and dry. You always like being right. You are very well set in your beliefs. When you're angry at someone, you first try the rational approach, and if that doesn't work you explode. You are a worry wart. You are a sucker for bad boys. You…I could go on."

She was stunned. How did he…? Never mind.

She could beat that.

"Your favorite color is blue, despite what the tabloids say. You have a short-temper, but really do try for your fans to keep a cool head. You haven't been able to keep a steady relationship because all the girls you date want _you_ to please _them_. Temperate forests are your favorite climate with a mixture of sun and rain. When _you_ are angry at someone, you explode without trying anything else. You have an honor/daddy complex—seriously, get over it, your dad's opinion is a stupid one. Your uncle is the only person besides your mother you ever really love in your family. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera."

She was rather smug. She totally beat him in 'I-know-more-about-you-than-you-do-about-me'.

But instead of him being as stunned as she had been, he just smiled wider—if that were possible—and wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her closer.

She stared up into his golden eyes.

"Well then, I guess you can't claim that we don't even know each other."

Her breath came short and shallow.

"No, I guess not."

And no more words were said in that particular broom closet at that particular club.

The paparazzi were most distressed to find that, no matter where their inside agent went, they couldn't find Zuko _anywhere_.

Or Katara, ace reporter, for that matter.

Curious.

Curious indeed.

* * *

Song: Paparazzi by Lady Gaga

* * *

Hee hee. I liked this one. And I also liked writing it. Even if this one was not very close to the song, but I didn't have much to work with. I think I got the gist of it though. Please Review!


	19. The Queen and the Soldier

Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA, or this song. Anything like ..._this..._ is a part of the song, but still happens in the story. The story parts are mine.

* * *

_The Soldier came knocking upon the Queens door…_

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Zuko, a high-ranking officer in the Queen's army stood at the door of her palace of ice.

A servant opened the tall door.

"I have business with the queen," he said before the servant could say anything, and he pushed his way past.

He walked down the grand entrance way to the ice throne the queen sat upon, brown skin standing out among the blue of the ice.

She was like an ice sculpture, this Queen. Very beautiful, very still, very cold. Distant. Unmovable in more ways than one. Her eyes were as cold as the landscapes of her country and her palace, matching in color as well as tone. The way a Queen would be.

He spoke.

…_he said "I am not fighting for you anymore."_

_And the Queen, she had seen his face someplace before…_

A flashback starts.

"I'm not fighting for you anymore."

A young Katara stares up defiantly at her brother the prince. He crosses his arms.

"And why not? You'll do what I tell you. I'm Crown Prince. I'm gonna be King someday, so you might as well get used to it."

"No! If you're gonna be King someday, Sokka, then you have to fight your own battles! Kings aren't cowards! Look at Daddy!"

Sokka was getting mad now.

"Look at Daddy?! What do you think happened to him?! Mom died because Dad wasn't hiding! Mom died because Dad—"

"No! Stop it, stop it! It's not Daddy's fault Momma died! No!"

Katara ran away from the words of her brother, poking at wounds that had yet to scab over, let alone heal and scar like his had.

Sokka found his legs frozen to the ice, unable to move.

Katara ran and ran until she was huddling under a snow bank in her parka, slowly getting colder and colder.

Suddenly a warm presence hovered above her. She looked up.

A young boy with the palest skin she had ever seen was sitting on the top ledge of her snow.

"So, who're _you_ hiding from?"

She blinked and rubbed at her freezing tears.

"Huh?"

He got down and sat next to her. He had on a red parka with a Water Tribe emblem on it. He was one of the immigrant's descendents from the Fire Nation from before the war.

"Well, you're crying, you're obviously not running away because you have no food, and you came to a secluded place where no one would easily be able to find you. So who're _you_ hiding from?"

She blinked with wide eyes, amazed that he could deduce that at a glance. She sniffed.

"My brother."

"Hah!" Why was he laughing?

"Why-What's so funny about that? Are you hiding from your brother too?"

He shook his head.

"Nah, I'm hiding from my sister. I swear, she is a _devil-woman_."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

They turned to look at the endless falling snow across the white plain, the lingering sound swallowed and silenced by the snow. After a while, he spoke again without looking at her.

"You know, hiding won't fix anything."

She turned toward him. His golden eyes were still following the drifting flakes.

"So what do you think I should do?"

He turned his head back towards her.

"Fight it. If they fight back, then fight harder. Don't let go of yourself. At least, that's what Uncle says. But he's crazy."

The boy winked, and got up to leave.

She just stared up at him.

"Remember that for me."

And he left.

A few hours later Katara felt the cold catching up to her, and she walked back home to the palace on the hill, kicking herself for not learning that boy's name.

The flashback ends.

"I see."

Her voice was high and commanding, the way a Queen's voice would be.

She stood.

…_And slowly, she led him inside_…

She stood, stately, slowly, and began to walk toward a hallway. Zuko fell in step behind her.

He spoke.

…_he said "I've watched your palace up here on the hill, and I've wondered who's' the woman for whom we all kill, but I am leaving tomorrow, and you can do what you will. Only first I am asking you, why?"_

She was outraged, and understanding, and heartbroken at his words. But she didn't show it. She had to be the perfect Queen. The perfect Queen of a corrupt court.

The war had been going on for a century. No one really knew how it started. And because of that, no one really knew how to end it. It was terrible for both sides. Each had suffered the losses of war, men, young and old, drafted into the army at 18, sometimes younger.

After her father died, Sokka was made King at the age of 19, not drafted because of his status of Crown Prince, much to his displeasure. At 20, he was broken. His wife was dead, the court was merciless, and so he left to fight at the front lines. They only brought back his armor, dented and bloody and scorched. It was all that was left.

And so at 18, Katara was made Queen. And she had to be perfect. If she wasn't perfect, she was dead. If she wasn't perfect, the court would take her country. If she wasn't perfect in the middle of this war, she had lost it. She had to be not just the ruler, she had to be the country. Not by personal choice, but for her people. And she had been good at it for the last two years. So when this Soldier told her he was leaving, he wasn't just leaving the country.

He was leaving her.

And this wasn't just the imaginings of a power mad Queen, angry this Soldier was leaving her for another woman (for that is how other Qeendoms are viewed), this was the woman inside of her heartbroken that the love of her life was leaving her.

Because that's what he was. Ever since that day on the ice.

…_Down the long narrow hall he was led, into her room with her tapestries red…_

Red tapestries? He wondered at the significance. A constant reminder of the war even within her own palace? A constant reminder of the terrible state of the country? A lost love? A lost battle? Or maybe she just liked the color red.

…_and she never once took the crown from her head. She asked him then to sit down…_

Zuko looked at her, really looked at her. And he saw the youth in her face, and the age in her eyes, and was suddenly reminded of a little girl, crying in the snow. Why he was reminded of this, he wasn't entirely sure, but soon saw it in her eyes. That girl in the snow had the exact same eyes, haunted by loss, and aged as all were by the toll of the war. He knew every time he looked in a mirror or into the dark gray waters in his own reflection. He knew every time he saw the families without any men, the Soldiers he fought with, the Soldier s he saw dying.

He spoke.

…"_I see you now, and you are so very young, but I've seen more battles lost than I have battles won, and I've got this intuition, says it's all for your fun, and now will you tell me why?"..._

She was hurt. Fun? _Fun?_ Did he think this war was _fun_ for her? She lost all of her family to this war, and he dared to think she thought it _fun?_

…_Well the young Queen, she fixed him with an arrogant eye…._

So she fought, like he told her to in the snow all those years ago.

… _She said, "You won't understand and you may as well not try."_

_But her face was a child's, and he thought she would cry, but she closed herself up, like a fan…_

He then thought about what he had said. All for your fun…She had lost a brother and a father and a mother. He was wrong to say that. He should apologize. But then he thought about what she had said. You won't understand, and you may as well not try. He had lost a sister and a father and a mother and an uncle he loved very much to this war. He does understand, possibly more than she does, so he would not apologize. She was wrong to say that.

…_and she said "I have swallowed a secret burning thread. It cuts me inside, and often I've bled."_

_And he laid a hand on top of her head, and he bowed her down to the ground…_

Zuko knelt down in front of the Queen, his left hand on her head, his other resting on his knee. Tentatively, he reached up with it and placed it on her cold cheek. It was a slight movement, but he felt it all the same as the pressure on his hand increased slightly. She was leaning into his burning touch.

She was a tired figure underneath it all. A sad thing for one only about two years younger than himself.

_... "And tell me how hungry are you, how weak must you feel, as you are living here alone, and you are never revealed. But I won't march again on your battle field…"_

He slipped his hand from her cheek, her head falling forward a little with the sudden lack of support, and he grabbed her arm and slid an arm around her waist, and lifted her up.

…_and he took her to the window to see…_

She was sad. Not affronted. Not offended. Just sad. They looked out at the landscape.

…_and the sun, it was gold, though the sky, it was gray. And she wanted more than she ever could say. But she knew how it frightened her, and she turned away, and would not look at his face again…_

Zuko let her slip from his grip as she turned her back to him. They both wore the same expression. A sad but accepting, passive face. He talked to her back, knowing she heard him.

…_and he said, "I want to live as an honest man, to get all I deserve and to give all I can,"…_

He came closer, and rested his hands on her trembling shoulders.

_..."and to love a young woman who I don't understand,"…_

She closed her eyes against it. She didn't want him to tell her. Not when he was leaving her forever. It would make the pain that much worse. Please don't let it be me. Please don't let it be me. Please don't let it be me. Please let it be me…

…"_your Highness, your ways are very strange."…_

She could barely keep the tears from flowing as he laid his forehead on the back of her head, warm breath on her neck, causing her trembling to become violent.

…_but the crown, it had fallen, and she thought she would break, and she stood there, ashamed, of the way her heart ached…_

She stood straight, and walked toward the door.

"Please follow me," she said in a choked voice. He nodded. They walked for a while. Then he spoke.

"Hey."

She looked back at him as they stopped at the door.

"Fight it for me. If they fight back, fight harder. Don't let yourself go. At least, that's what I say. But I'm crazy." And he winked at her. "Remember that, for me?"

And she nearly thought that was her undoing.

… _and she took him to the doorstep and she asked him to wait. She would only be a moment inside…_

She couldn't do it. But she had to. She had to be the perfect Queen. A tear slipped from her eye, and she rubbed it away as quickly as possible. Her mask couldn't break.

He knew it was the end. He knew the moment he stepped through the doors. He knew the moment he saw her trembling, the moment he touched her cheek. It was the end. He smiled for the first time in ages. He knew that eventually she would come to him. He would wait forever until that time. He refused to leave that place between the worlds until she was walking with him into the realm of spirits.

…_Out in the distance her order was heard, and the Soldier was killed, still waiting for her word. And while the Queen went on strangling in the solitude she preferred, the battle. Continued on…_

Song: The Queen and the Soldier by Suzanne Vega

* * *

Sniff. So sad. Sister dear gave me the general storyline for this one, and I added my own parts into it. This is the longest one yet that didn't feel forced or artificial. Please review. (no exclamations for this one. Too sad.)


	20. The Man Who Can't be Moved

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA, and I don't own this Song. I do own this fiction, and I do love people who review. Yeah. No Witty Comment Foh U. Bleh. This Fanfiction = Too Short For My Liking.

* * *

"Zuko, have you seriously been camping here for _10 months_?"

That's what she asked me when she found me in a super-intense sleeping bag, all but surrounded by fire. I told her what I had been doing for the past 10 months.

*oOo*

When I first came to the South Pole, I was only looking for the Avatar. I didn't expect to find the person I loved—of course, I didn't realize I loved her at the time.

After the Avatar escaped, he and the young girl trailing with him were always on my mind.

After I tied her to a tree, it was hard, trying not to kiss her, keep my fantasies in check.

But I needed the Avatar to regain my honor.

I had to use her. It hurt.

It hurt more when I had to choose between her and family under Ba Sing Se.

It hurt the most when I saw the look on her face at my betrayal, and when I came back for her—for the Avatar, and she completely rejected me.

I had to make it up to her.

So, after the war, after it was over but the feelings remained, I left the Fire Nation, and went to the South Pole.

And I won't move until she comes back.

*oOo*

A Water Tribe is stationed close by. The chief came by one day, told me I couldn't stay there. I told him there's someone I'm waiting for, if it takes a day, a month, a year. He sighed, but nodded, understanding.

I couldn't let stupid mistakes keep her away. I would wait—if she came, I was the happiest man alive. If she didn't, I was dead anyway, so what did it matter?

People gave me food. People gave me blankets. They didn't understand. I wasn't begging. I was waiting.

So, I showed them a picture. A picture of her, Aang, Sokka, and Toph, drawn on a wanted poster. Her picture was circled. If I were less masculine, and a bit more prideful, it would have girly little hearts around it.

Their eyes would widen in recognition, or wrinkle their foreheads in confusion, but all would pat my shoulder and leave.

*oOo*

One day the Tribe sent a party to convene with the other tribe. I wondered if there was an uproar going on in my absence—after all, the brand new Fire Lord just disappeared out of the blue. This Tribe didn't know who I was. It was relieving, in a way. No worries—except for the obvious one, that she wouldn't come.

I asked them to spread my story—the South Pole was too remote. No one would know, no one would get the news to her. They agreed. Wherever they landed, my tale would be told.

I hoped that maybe in her travels she would hear about me, the man who can't be moved.

And maybe she won't mean to, but she'll hear about my story, and she'll fly off on that bison, and run to that block of ice, the block ice where we first met.

I would tell her I was sorry. I would tell her I loved her, and that I could not be moved.

*oOo*

She had sat down by then. Tears leaked out of her eyes, the way they had when I saved her from Azula's lightening, happy and sad at the same time.

Her hands were clapped over her mouth, and before I knew what was happening, she had jumped on me, and wrapped her arms tight around me, burying her head into my shoulder.

"I-I never thought…n-never thought th-that you...y-you also…"

I blinked, my brain taking a moment to process that.

Also?

"I-I love you!"

I felt a freezing wet on my cheeks as tears rolled down _my_ cheeks.

I whispered, "I love you too, Katara."

Song: The Man Who Can't be Moved by The Script

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Awwww! I liked this one. I really did. I don't really know if I did this song justice, so reviews are appreciated. I cannt spel noting. At al. Blarg. I'm so so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry for not updating SoB. Sorry. I am considering dropping it...

If anyone familiar with the song noticed that I used some of the lyrics in there (or tried to), then kudos to you! Please Review!


	21. Teardrops On My Guitar

Disclaimer: I do not own blah blah blah(A:TLA) nor do I own this song, and I do own this story.

* * *

Zuko looks at me. I fake a smile so he won't see.

He left. Just a few months ago we were dating. Things were great. We were in love.

Or, at least that's what I thought. A few weeks ago, he ended it. Told me it was going nowhere, he wasn't happy, and not in love. Like I was.

We stayed friends. There was no reason not to. It's not like I could ever hate him.

He's happy with her. I can see it in his eyes, the way he talks about her. That shine is unmistakable. I saw it my own eyes only a few months ago. I saw it dies and disappear only a few weeks ago. I bet she's beautiful, that girl she talks about. And she's got everything that I have to live without.

I laugh with him, a hollow sound to my ears, and I vaguely wonder if he heard it. I vaguely wonder if there is anyone else who didn't.

I also wonder if he knows that he's all I think about at night.

A headache forms. I ignore it. I've been ignoring it for quite a while now. Every time I see him, it seems that headache just comes back, worse than ever.

I don't know why I keep hoping, dreaming, wishing, that he'll come back. _Oh, he'll see the light_. No. No he won't. And that sinks me even deeper into my headache. My headache I find is also centered somewhere in my chest.

Zuko walks by me. Can't he tell that I can't breathe? She'd better hold him tight, and give him all of her love, look in those beautiful gold eyes, and know she's lucky–he deserves that much.

I watch him go, staring longingly before catching and reprimanding myself. Acquaintances ask if I'm alright. It takes me a moment, but I find my voice.

"Fine. I'm fine. I just...need to go."

I walk out the doors and head home alone.

I go inside, and I turn out the light, I knock his picture down, and maybe get some sleep tonight...

_Cause he's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar_

_The only one who's got enough of me to break my heart_

_He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do_

_He's the time taken up, but there's never enough_

_and he's all I need to fall into..._

Zuko looks at me. I fake a smile so he won't see how jealous I am of Katara.

Song: Teardrops On My Guitar by Taylor Swift

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Yeeaah. This one just wanted to be written while I was sitting on the computer typing another fanfiction (sorry, it isn't SoB--I'm lazy as hell), so I did. I'ts fail, but whatever. And yes, this is from Mai's point of view. All of the one's I've written so far have had Mai be all bitchy and lame, so this one is like a Mai tribute-thing to how sad she is, and how we should feel sorry for her--that is, that she gets no hot Zuko lovin', as my sister said. Please Review!


	22. I Think I Love You

He~ey! I'm not dead! Really! I'm not! I swear!

* * *

It was a good dream, up until that point.

It had been surreal. Katara was floating in a place reminiscent to the spirit world. She concentrated, and her body floated down to the forest floor. In the distance, she saw Aang as he landed and closed his glider.

She ran toward him, calling his name, but he didn't seem to be getting any closer. "Aang! Aang!"

She stopped short as Toph came into view, walking up to him, saying something Katara couldn't hear. Aang laughed soundlessly at whatever Toph had said, and much to Katara's surprise, leaned down and kissed the blind girl full on the lips. They then proceeded to get a little more intimate, making Katara blush as she looked away.

"Aang..."

She smiled a little sadly. It was good to know he had grown out of his childish crush, especially now that the war was over. He had been twelve years old (well, one-hundred and twelve, but that was beside the point), and had fallen for the first beautiful girl he laid his eyes on, much in the style of a twelve year old boy testing the waters. Now he was seventeen, he and Katara 'dating' for too long. They would never have moved past the 'kissing and light touching' stage in their relationship, and honestly, Katara would have felt awkward with Aang.

Now, this was a dream. Somewhere in her subconscious, Katara knew that, and it made no sense for her to be sad and accepting that Aang was with Toph, since, saying as how it was a _dream_, he was still with her. And yet she was. When Katara woke up she may have to talk to him about that. Hmm...

In the mean time, Katara started wandering around the blurry forest-dream-world her subconscious had created. Trees, trees, more trees, the colors reminding her of the forest Jet and his Freedom Fighters had lived in. And then she was there.

Jet swung from branch to branch, using the odd hook-swords he was proficient with. Katara doubted many people could handle them as well as he did, he who seemed to be born to use them. But nevertheless, Katara stared warily at dream-Jet with tight eyes. He had betrayed her in this forest, and although he had redeemed himself so thoroughly under Lake Laogui, this version of him may be as she had remembered before.

But Jet never came down. He just continued on, swinging through his forest, that almost smug smile on his face. No fire nation soldiers traversed the forest, Katara didn't know how she knew, but she did, and she saw two people, a man and a woman, walking away in the distance. Jet was moving toward them, and not once did he look away. She knew he would overtake them.

Katara watched him disappear, slightly confused, slightly surprised, but mostly relieved. She didn't know if she wanted to see Jet again, dream or not. Not after Laogui, after his sacrifice.

And then she was in Haru's village. But she wasn't. She was there, she recognized it, and Haru and his mother, but she wasn't _there_. People walked through her like she was a ghost, only there to watch. She watched Haru, and deciding she didn't have much else to do, followed him as he went about the day. He was older than she remembered him being, so she supposed it _had_ been around five years since she last saw him, so it was understandable except that this was a _dream_. He bought some food from one of the farmers, and spoke with a man who greeted him on the street. Katara had started spacing out, looking out at the sea, watching the waves push and pull when something from the conversation caught her attention.

"...still seeing that Aimi girl, eh?"

Haru blushed and ducked his head a little, embarrassed. "Yeah. I'm planning to propose to her soon."

The man laughed and slapped Haru on the back, congratulating him as Katara stared in shock.

Haru, too? It seemed everyone she had ever had feelings for were moving on, moving away. She suddenly felt very alone. It had been a good dream up until that point. But now Katara felt sad, alone, beaten, like she had aboard the metal ship the firebenders had kept the earthbenders on. She remembered those Fire Nation soldiers and officials. They had been rude, crass, and smelled like coal.

Katara found herself in a forest, different from the one she had met Jet in, this one being dark and green. On the horizon, smoke trickled up into the sky, and the smell of burning filled her nose.

Katara had been around many firebenders during the war. Young, old, women, men, and each had their own kind of scent. The children often smelled of fireworks or candle flame. Women smelled like cinnamon and perfume, sometimes of volcanoes. The men differed much more, usually depending on social class, or where they worked. Some smelled like gunpowder, causing Katara to wrinkle her nose in disgust, others like ash, or the unpleasant scent of burning and destruction. Still others smelled like cooking meat or the acrid scent of lightening that left a bad taste in her mouth. She remembered one in particular who smelled like hot tea, a memory that made her smile.

But the scent of the firebender who slipped arms around Katara's waist from behind was that of campfire smoke, warm, pleasant and comforting. It was a scent that surprised (this dream was full of surprises) and unnerved Katara in how well she knew it, and how much it made her feel safe, happy. Initially the thought that a firebender was grabbing Katara had frightened her, but then she recognized who it was and relaxed because she knew Zuko would do nothing to hurt her.

Katara sat up as she woke with a start, holding a hand up to her pounding heart. She looked around and saw Aang asleep next to her, breathing steadily. As she watched him sleep, she wondered why she was so sad the dream wasn't real, until something hit her. She loved Zuko. And that fish they had for dinner probably could have used another ten minutes to cook.

*oOo*

It happened one at a time.

First she and Aang broke up due to long-unresolved issues, and by the next week, he and Toph were a couple. It was actually kind of adorable. But that didn't stop Katara from trying to stay as far away from them as she possibly could, and that meant leaving Aang's home at the Southern Air Temple. She said her goodbyes and left on Appa, sending him back to Aang and Toph when she had procured an ostrich-horse.

Travelling across the Earth Kingdom, Katara found herself tracing the path they, Katara, Aang, Sokka, Appa, and later Toph, had taken. She soon came to the Forest. Jet's Forest. Looking around, she supposed it wasn't much different from other forests, honestly. It had less splendor without the enchanting red color of autumn to accent it. Stopping at a small stream, she searched the treetops as the ostrich-horse drank, not sure what she was looking for.

Katara didn't find anything in her search but the empty shell of the Freedom Fighter's hideout, abandoned due to Jet's leaving and the end of the war. She was saddened at the sight, remembering a time when boys sailed through the branches, flew by on the zip lines. But it was a sight that brought her joy too―joy in that, for a while at least, the world didn't need any Freedom Fighters. Feeling more content than she did entering the forest, Katara saddled up and left, trying to ignore the ghost on the edge of her vision as it swung through the trees on hooked blades.

Eventually Katara wandered to Haru's village, completely on accident. What she found when she got there was a wedding going on, and from the looks of it, it was Haru's wedding. Without speaking a word to anyone in the village, Katara turned her mount around and left. Katara didn't really know what she was doing. She had been going through a funk ever since leaving the Southern Air Temple, and she had a feeling it had to do with Zuko. More than once she had woken up and jumped up in her bedroll, screaming into her pillow that she loved him. Honestly, she had no idea how to deal with it. She also had no idea where she was wandering, but she was surprised when she stopped outside a tea shop in Ba Sing Sei, the Jasmine Dragon. How had she missed going through the city gates? Seriously, with the war that had recently―even if five years a bit long―ended, the guards would still be edgy and―

Meanwhile, the guards at the front of the city were still getting over the fact that _Sifu_ _Katara,_ the woman who had taught the _Avatar_ and helped _save the world,_ had been at the city gates. And the look on her face...so focused, so intense...it made them wonder what kind of mission she was on, to be so concentrated that she hadn't seemed to have heard them. It was all they could do to call a fast order to open the gates before her ostrich horse ran into them.

―where was the security? Honestly. Someone would have stopped her. Anyway, Katara dismounted from the animal she rode on and decided that visiting Iroh wouldn't be too bad. He had taken a vacation from the Fire Palace, coming here to work in his tea shop, despite what it did to his employees. Everyone was twitchy when the Fire Lord himself boiled their tea and cooked their food. Not that Iroh minded. Or noticed.

She walked in, and immediately her body relaxed as the scent of tea hit her nose. Underneath the strong scent, she could just make out the distinct smell of firebender on the air. Katara went to a table and sat down, a smile on her face that she had been missing the feel of.

She stopped a waiter passing by her with a smile.

"Pardon me, but could you please ask Fire Lord Iroh if he has time to chat with an old friend?"

The waiter blinked at her for a moment before he recognized her and gaped.

"S-Sifu Katara! Y-yes, of course!" He said, bowing, before rushing off to the kitchens.

Katara settled back in her chair, getting comfortable, before frowning and sitting up. Hm. Maybe she should have gone back there. Was that too rude? Would she be imposing? She didn't want to look so conceited as to announce her presence and expect the _Fire Lord_ to come to_ her_. Maybe she should...?

She was interrupted in her thoughts by a bang and a clatter before Fire Lord Iroh stepped out of the kitchen area, a chefs apron on over a common earth peasant garb, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. She smiled as he came out with a huge grin plastered over his face, looking around for her before walking over to her table.

He sat down with a laugh. "Ahh, Katara! How good to see you again! How long has it been now? Five years?"

She laughed with him and shook his hand over the table. "It's good to see you too, Fire Lord Iroh. How have you been?"

He waved his hand, saying, "Oh, forget the formalities, I get enough of that at the court. I'm here to have a good time, run my tea shop (into the ground, apparently-honestly, is everyone this jumpy? I swear, one of the waiters dropped three teapots within the span of an hour!), and get away from palace life for a little while. I must be giving the council back home a heart attack with the sudden disappearance, but they could use some excitement! And to top it all off, their Prince isn't even there to manage things for them!"

Katara blinked at the laughing man. "W-what? You mean Zuko isn't at the Palace?"

Iroh shook his head. "No, no, he's―"

Another crash sounded from the kitchen, along with a curse and a voice Katara would never be able to forget yelling, "Uncle! We need you back in the kitchen!"

"Just a minute, Zuko! I'm talking with an old friend," Iroh said with a wink at Katara.

"_Un_cle! We don't have time for that!" His voice started getting closer and Katara turned to see Zuko walking out of the kitchen. "You can catch up with him―oh, Katara. Uh, hi."

Zuko had reached their table and seen who he was talking to. Suddenly, whatever they so desperately needed Iroh for in the kitchens wasn't so important anymore. Katara had to bite the inside of her cheek―hard―to not shout out her feelings for him.

"H-hi, Zuko. How're things in the Fire Nation?"

"Oh, um, they're fine. Things are going well. We're recovering from the war. Many of the colonists are coming back, though there are still some who decided to stay in the, uh, Earth Kingdom. How are things with Aang? And the Water Tribes?"

"That's good. Aang...he and Toph are...you know...a thing. They got together a little while ago. The Water Tribes are doing fine. We're also recovering, and some of the warriors and benders from the Northern Tribe have come to the Southern Tribe to help rebuild our city, and several women have had children with bending abilities, so waterbending is being reestablished in our tribe and I think I might love you."

Katara saw Zuko's eyes widen and it took her half a moment to realize what she had said before her own eyes widened and slapped her hands over her mouth, horrified that she had said that out loud. When she looked around to see if anyone else had noticed, specifically Iroh, she realized that the Fire Lord had long since gone.

Zuko broke the silence, saying with a hoarse voice, "Do you want to talk about this somewhere a bit more private?"

Katara nodded, her hands still over her mouth, and followed him up the stairs of the tea house and into an office, which looked to be Iroh's. She and Zuko sat down next to each other on a couch in the corner.

"So," he started.

"So."

"Would you mind repeating what you said down there?"

"Um...about Aang and Toph?"

"No."

"Um...about the Water Tribe?"

"Katara."

"Sorry, sorry! It's just this is still new to me. I've never really felt like this...about anyone before."

There was silence for a while as they both stared at the floor.

"Really?"

"Yeah. And that...worries me. I'm not entirely sure about this...love thing. I mean, when I was younger, I was in love with the idea of falling in love with someone, but now I'm not entirely sure. Mostly because if _you_ don't love me, then I'll have fallen in love with someone who doesn't love me, and usually that ends badly, mostly with one person in a depression that borders on suicidal and the other extremely guilty should the first person commit suicide and it's all one big mess and―"

"Katara."

"―if you don't want me to stay then I'll go, really, I will. I don't know if you love me too or not, but I only want to make you happy and I think I could better do that if I stayed and, and―"

"I _do_."

"―_really_ want to stay with you, whether it's here (how long will you be in Ba Sing Sei anyway?) or the Fire Nation or wherever, but it's okay if you don't want me to stay, I mean, you had that thing with Mai, and how is she, by the way? And I don't want to intrude on that―"

"_Katara!_" Zuko practically shouted, grabbing her hands. She blinked at shut her mouth lifting her gaze to see that he had been looking at her for a while.

"Um, yes?"

"Calm down. I love you too, so stop that with the suicidal depression. I don't want you to go, I want to you stay. I'll be in Ba Sing Sei for a few more weeks before Uncle and I go back to the Fire Nation to straighten things out with the council. I'd like it if you came with me so we have a chance to try this out. Unless you're needed somewhere else?"

Katara quickly shook her head.

"Mai and I came to an understanding a few years ago, and we are no longer together. She went with Tai Lee to Kyoshi Island and is training with them there. You will not be intruding on anything."

Katara was still a little hung up on the second thing he said, so it took her a little while to process the rest. When she _did_ process the rest, her eyes widened and she smiled broadly at him, who returned it with a small smile of his own.

Iroh hummed happily in the kitchen of his tea shop, glad he had installed those communication pipes in his office.

Song: I Think I Love You by The Partridge Family, version by Kaci

* * *

...

Heeey guys. It's been a while. Hope no one dislikes me. This one was kinda hard to write, just because I kept feeling like it was too long and the first part doesn't really stick with the song. I could see this written a different way during a different time period, like when they were at the Air Temple.

First things first,

DISclaimer~!: I own A:TLA not. It is not mine. The characters (besides that Aimi girl!) are not mine. I just mess with what happens in the story and the afterwards. Yeah.

So, uh, yeah. More will come soon. I plan on writing a few sad ones, mostly because I recently came back from a week-long Girl Scout camp trip thing and I notice that all GS songs are either about camping, friends, or DEATH DEPRESSINGNESS DOOM BLARGHLFLARGHL. So. Yeah. Please Review! (Reviewers get virtual cookies)


	23. Long Black Veil

Here is another one I've been working on for a few days. I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out, though the dialogue and ending are a little iffy. Please tell me what you think through a review. :D

* * *

Fire Lord Zuko stood on the platform with his head held high. The crowd that looked on was divided between those who would cry for him and those who would watch with satisfaction as his body burned.

He saw her in the middle of the crowd, staring up at him with a blank expression on her face. His other friends looked upon him with teary faces, disbelieving and angry expressions.

Zuko half expected Toph to go against his word and drag him out of there with a magnificent display of earthbending. Her or Aang, although he knew she wouldn't because she gave her word and Aang couldn't because of his duty as the Avatar. Sokka was biting back tears as he bravely stared at Zuko, saluting him when Zuko caught his eye. Suki had buried her face in Sokka's arm, sobbing. Toph stood by them with her head bowed, silent tears dripping down chin, Aang standing on the platform near Zuko, open tears streaming down his face. Katara stared up at him in the middle of the crowd with a blank expression and no tears on her cheeks.

The Fire Sage walked onto the platform in front of Zuko. When he made eye contact, a sad expression crossed the old man's face, but it was gone when he turned to the crowd. The Sage read from a scroll.

"Fire Lord Zuko. You have been charged with the murder of Princess Aimi of the Earth Kingdom. If you have any last words in your defense, speak now."

Aang looked over to him.

"Zuko, you can still defend yourself! You just need an alibi! You don't have to die for something you didn't do!"

Zuko remained silent. His only action was to raise his head higher and clench his hands harder.

"Very well then," said the Sage. "Executioner!"

The man turned back to his ruler, sentenced to death. "Goodbye, Fire Lord Zuko," the Sage whispered. "May you rest well in the Spirit Realm." He bowed his head in reverence, and left the platform.

Aang looked away as the executioner lit the tinder aflame. Fire licked at Zuko's clothing, and began to sear his flesh. Even as he died, Fire Lord Zuko was a sight to behold, awe-inspiring and charismatic despite his scar. The flames were hot, Zuko could feel the heat against his face, similar to the heat he had felt years ago when his father had marked him. Although the pain was almost unbearable, it was a familiar kind of pain, pain he had suffered time and time again, and a lesser man would have screamed it out for all to feel and understand. Zuko remained silent. Silent, he gazed at the face he had fallen in love with, the last thing Zuko saw in the world before died.

*oOo*

"Uncle, it's good to see you again."

Fire Lord Zuko walked into the Jasmine Dragon, a very popular and famous tea shop in the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Sei, due to both Iroh's tea-making skill and his position as a member of the Fire Nation's royal family. Zuko was there visiting the Earth King and his daughter, Princess Aimi. They were there to cement an alliance between the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom via marriage to the Princess. Zuko assumed that a high ranking Fire Nation noble would be chosen, though which he wasn't quite certain yet. Iroh greeted his nephew with gusto.

"Zuko! It is wonderful to see you here! My business here has been doing well, especially when the Earth King is a regular customer! Ha ha ha!"

Zuko laughed along with him, and smiled as he hugged his uncle.

"I've missed you, Uncle."

"I've missed you too, Zuko. Now let's go inside and have some tea."

Later Zuko sat in a chair with the Earth King Kuei and his daughter in the audience chamber. Bosco was there too, along with his small brood.

"Hello, Earth King Kuei. It is an honor to be here, and I thank you for your hospitality. I understand we are here to talk about the alliance between our countries and the possible betrothal of the Princess."

Kuei nodded and scratched a mini-Bosco behind the ear. "Yes. In order to regain balance and trust between our nations, I believe such an alliance is necessary. Marrying my daughter to a Fire Nation noble would be the best way to do this. However, I believe my daughter must be betrothed to a noble worthy of her birth. She is the daughter of the Earth King, and as such cannot be wed to just any Fire Nation noble."

Zuko listened to the Earth King's words with growing suspicion, and furrowed his eyebrow. "What is it that you are suggesting?"

"Fire Lord Zuko, you have been Fire Lord for quite some time now, eighteen years if I am correct. However, you have yet to be married and to do so would reassure your people of your intentions for an heir."

Zuko did not like where this was going.

"Should you marry my daughter, not only would this reassure your people, it would ensure an alliance between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation that would last for some time."

Yep. He didn't like where this had gone at all.

"I...I will have to think on this offer, Earth King. There are other Fire Nation nobles to be considered as candidates for your daughter's hand. I would like to continue this discussion some time later, though, and retire for the night. Excuse me."

Zuko left the chamber and entered his rooms. The moment he was alone, Zuko slumped on the bed, removing his decorative wear for a more comfortable outfit. With his head in his hands, Zuko considered his options.

It was true that, at thirty-four, Zuko remained unmarried. If he were to marry and produce an heir, his people would feel more comfortable with him as their ruler, a ruler who had to be strong during their time of recovery.

But he still didn't want to marry the Earth Princess. She had looked to be about seventeen, half his age, and that was kind of creepy. He also didn't want to marry her because of his relationship with Katara: he had been seeing the Avatar's wife in secret for some time now, although he suspected Toph knew.

After the war, Aang and Katara were married and moved to the Western Air Temple. Mai and Zuko had been together for a while, but their relationship dwindled until Mai broke it off, leaving with Tai Lee to the Island of Kyoshi. A few years before, Aang and Katara had returned to the Fire Nations and things went downhill from there.

With a sigh, Zuko rose and went through several firebending forms to clear his mind. After completing the Dancing Dragon, Zuko knew he had to do as the Earth King suggested, and marry the Earth Princess. None of the other candidates in the Princesses age range were high up enough, and the nobles who had the slightest chance of being considered 'worthy' were all older than him, and Zuko would not wish that on the girl. He sighed again and lay back in bed.

Several hours of uneasy sleep later, Zuko woke to the sound of someone slipping into his room, intending stealth. Remaining silent, Zuko slowly slid his hand to grasp the dagger he always carried with him, in case such an attempt was made on his life. The figure approached his bed, and as they reached out with a gloved hand, Zuko sprang back and delivered a kick to their stomach, and landed on the ground with the dagger brandished.

"Oof! Zuko! It's me!"

Zuko stood up out of his stance in surprise, and walked over to the visitor, sheathing his dagger as he helped them up.

"Katara? What're you doing here in Ba Sing Sei? Are you alright? You know you shouldn't sneak up on me when I'm sleeping."

Katara winced as she stood, wrapping her arms around his neck as he slid arms around her waist.

"I'll be fine. Dang, you haven't gotten any weaker over the years. And did you seriously just ask that question? The Avatar oversees important matters that take place between countries, especially alliances. Of course he'd be here to oversee the alliance between the Fire Nation and the Earth King. And what is the matter with you? What you were doing is not what I would call 'sleeping'. Has something come up?"

Zuko held onto Katara for a while, breathing in the scent of her hair, not talking.

Then, "We have to stop seeing each other."

Katara pulled back, hurt. "What? What do you mean? Is it something I did?"

Zuko shook his head quickly. "No, no. You did nothing. It's not your fault at all, it's mine. I have to marry the Earth Princess."

"What? Why?"

"The Fire Nation needs this alliance, and the Earth King is demanding that his daughter be wed to a noble 'worthy of her birth'. She's only about seventeen, Katara. The only 'worthy' candidates are older than me, and I'm already twice her age. I can't...I won't condemn her to that. And as the Fire Lord I need to be married anyway to reassure my people of my strength. Believe me, Katara, when I say that I love you, and would marry you if I could. But I can't―you are Aang's wife. And I have to marry the Earth King's daughter to ensure this alliance. I'm sorry."

Katara buried her head into Zuko's chest and got his shirt all wet.

"One more night, love," she whispered. "Just one more night."

*oOo*

Zuko awoke to the sound of boots tramping down the hall, and he shook Katara awake.

"Get under the bed," he hissed in her ear. "Hurry! They'll be here any minute!"

Katara quickly sat up and hurriedly put on her underwear as she swung under the low bed in Zuko's quarters, making sure the sheets covered her body from view.

There was aloud pounding on the door before it was nearly thrown off of its hinges, and the Dai Lee raced in, cuffing Zuko's hands.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Zuko thanked Agni as they pulled him roughly from the bed into standing position that he had remembered to put on pants the night before.

"Fire Lord Zuko, you have the right to remain silent. You are arrested for the murder of Earth Princess Aimi."

Zuko walked with the Dai Lee agents, stunned at the accusation. The Earth Princess was dead? And they thought that _Zuko_ had killed her?

Back in Zuko's quarters, Katara rolled out from under the bed, horrified. Zuko would go on trial. They would present evidence, possibly witnesses, and demand Zuko's alibi. Oh no. His _alibi_. What had she done?

"Fire Lord Zuko, do you have an alibi?"

Zuko sat in the uncomfortable court room chair, still shocked that the young woman who had almost been promised to him as his wife, who had been sitting in the audience chamber with him and the King only the day before, was dead. The evidence against him was surprising in its extent.

The murder weapon was one of his broadswords; somehow someone had procured them, killed the Princess with them, then stupidly put them back without cleaning them. He never would have left them in that state had he actually killed her. As a master of the dual blades, he would know that leaving them dirty with blood would harm the blades and their sheath. And although lawyers reasoned he would not have murdered the Princess since he needed her marriage to build an alliance with the Earth Kingdom, the few witnesses of either the murder itself or the murderer's exit swore it was Zuko who had committed the crime. The Dai Lee and the Earth king were angry enough to disregard the reasoning to sentence him to death, and it was all Aang could do to convince them to allow Zuko to provide his alibi first. Right now, that was what would decide his fate.

"Fire Lord Zuko, answer the question. Do you have an alibi?"

Zuko shut his eyes. He couldn't tell them his alibi. He had been with Katara. Katara was the Avatar's wife. To tell the court, the world that he had been with another man's wife would disgrace him―and on top of that, it would disgrace Katara. If it had only been him to lose face, he would have told him. He had lost face before―literally, some thought―and it would be nothing new to him. But his honor was not the only honor at stake.

"Fire Lord Zuko. This is the last chance you will be given. If you were somewhere else you won't have to die."

Zuko opened his eyes and looked at the judge, who was, ironically, Aang. His eyes were practically pleading with Zuko to say something, so he didn't have to sentence his best friend to death.

Zuko remained silent.

"Very well then. Fire Lord Zuko, you are hereby pronounced guilty of the murder of Earth Princess Aimi and are sentenced to death as according to the laws of your country. Your execution will take place in the Fire Nation three weeks from this date. Court dismissed." Aang's voice cracked at 'sentenced to death'.

Zuko was led away in chains.

_3 weeks later..._

"I'm here to visit the Fire Lord, and don't try to stop me."

Zuko's head rose at the sound of her voice.

"Katara?"

The waterbender rushed into the cell the guard opened and knelt, grasping his face in her hands, her face wet with tears.

"Oh, Zuko! I am so sorry! This is all my fault! I-if I h-hadn't been there..."

Zuko stroked her hair, holding her to his chest.

"Shh...no. Katara, don't blame yourself. You couldn't have foreseen this. It is not your fault."

"B-but―"

"No. Katara you have to be strong. You have to live for me, alright? I can't be there for the rest of them. Toph and Aang will take this the hardest, and you must be there to pull them through. You've always been our group's strength, and now you have to be strong for them again."

"But what about me?" She whispered. "Don't you think that _I'll _take this, your―your _death_ the hardest? What if I can't go on? What if I―?"

"No! Katara, please. If you die because of me...even if I were already dead...I could never forgive myself. Don't let me die thinking I've condemned you too."

Katara shook her head. "No, I won't. I promise, Zuko, I-I'll try. I'll b-be strong. I will live. F-for you."

They sat there in the cell and quietly cried until the Dai Lee guard told Katara that visiting hours were over. The Dai Lee guarded Zuko now because Zuko's Fire Nation guards had tried to allow him to escape. The Dai Lee had discovered the guards failing in their attempt to coax Zuko out of the cell, pleading with him to leave. Zuko had refused to budge.

In the morning, two Dai Lee agents opened the cell and led Zuko out.

"C'mon Fire Lord. It's time to face justice. Not even royalty can avoid it, so don't get any funny ideas, murderer."

Zuko allowed them to cuff his hands. As they walked out of the prison, he lifted his head to stare straight ahead.

"I know. I've faced justice before."

Fire Lord Zuko stood on the platform with his head held high.

*oOo*

Katara slipped out of the Fire Nation Palace and threw the long black veil over her face. Running past guards and rushing through the city, she reached the hills outside of the capital. It wasn't customary for the Fire Lords of years past to be buried outside of the capital―rather, most had their ashes kept in the catacombs under the palace. But Fire Lord Zuko was the exception. Ten years ago, he was burned and buried for a crime he didn't commit. Only Katara knew this, as during the murder of the woman he was to marry, she had held him in her arms.

Now she walks the hills outside of the capital, and visits the grave of Zuko as the night winds wail. Nobody knows, and nobody sees her cry over his ashes. Nobody knows but me, the Fire Lord who died to protect her honor and waits for her.

Song: Long Black Veil by Wilken/Dill, version listened to sung by Joan Baez

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Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA or Long Black Veil, also made popular by Johnny Cash.

Sniffers. Yeah, this one is kinda sad, but I like it. Though I would like your opinion on how the ending is, or how you think it could be improved. Same goes for the dialogue. Please Review. (Reviewers get virtual cookies-just a little incentive, yeah?)


	24. I Never Told You

I felt kinda bad writing this. But in a good way! Really!

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Katara tossed and turned. She twisted and bent into so many different positions in her attempt to get comfortable. But she couldn't do it. She was too cold with the warm blankets gone, and it was so stuffy and sweaty under the clinging feel of fur on her skin. More than once she sat up and held her head in her hands and bent herself a drink of water from the pool the tribe had set up in her room. Of course, that meant she had to relieve herself half an hour or so later, but it was more an excuse to get out of her lonely bed than anything else.

The walk to the bathroom across the cold wooden floor was a relief. Katara didn't like sleeping alone, even during peacetime, and walking around made her feel better than during the hours of insomnia. She brushed her fingers over the icy walls of the hallway in her home at the South Pole.

After the war ended, efforts were made to rebuild the Southern Tribe and their once magnificent city. Water benders and warriors from the Northern Tribe came to aid their sister tribe, and many of them had stayed to raise families. Already permanent buildings had been made, a step up from the temporary igloos and tents. Her house was located near the site where the main lodge would be built.

Bending water from a pool in her bathroom, Katara splashed her face. The water was warm, and tempted Katara to bathe. Sighing, she bent the warm water into the basin and stripped. Katara sank into the warm water, immediately happy with her decision. Humming contentedly, she floated, completely enveloped in warmth. The South Pole was colder than she remembered it being―probably because of all the time spent away from it, and the distinct absence of the blue and white of water and ice.

Other colors dominated the places she had been on their journey―red, green, brown, yellow. Lots of red in the Fire Nation, as well as orange, and black, and gold. Red reminded her too much of wartime, or a feared enemy. Orange reminded her too much of fires that burned with malicious intent. Black reminded her too much of the iron ships the fires came in, of impending doom. Gold reminded her too much of golden eyes she still missed waking to see.

Sitting up with a splash, Katara pounded her fists against her temples in a futile attempt to banish the memories from her mind. Her arms slid and fell with a splash back into the water. Drawing her legs up, she rested her chin on her knees and touched her fingers to her lips in remembrance of a phantom sensation, the ghost of a smile she had fallen in love with.

She drained the water in the basin after drying off, brushed out her hair, and redressed for bed. She felt a little better after washing off the sweat and the tears she hadn't noticed were there before. Climbing back into bed, Katara pulled the furs up to her chin, and sighed contentedly when they weren't too hot, though she couldn't help but feel they were a little too cold. Nothing would ever be warm enough again.

Upon waking, Katara shivered, like she did every morning after. Peering through lidded eyes, she started at darkness. She had forgotten, that at the poles, there was no sunrise during the winter. In the Fire Nation, the sun seemed to come up just a little earlier than everywhere else, and she had grown used to the light it brought even in the winter time. Getting up, she quickly padded across icy floors to prepare for her day.

Sitting down at her writing desk after dressing, Katara began the task she started and never finished every day since she came back to the South Pole.

_Dear_

She hesitated then crossed it out.

_Dear_

_Zuko,_

_Hey, it's Katara. I'm just writing to ask you how you've been. It's been a while since I last saw you―a year or so, give or take. I miss you._

_How is Mai? Is she doing well? Have you two gotten married, or are you still―_

Katara stopped and closed her eyes. Gold flooded her inner vision and she snapped them back open. She continued writing.

_Or are you still taking it slow? I wish I could be there. I've always hated not knowing things, I'm sure you remember. But I should get to the point of this letter―we both know that I would rather never know if you and Mai were married. We both know that I'd rather be the one there by your side, I'd rather be there than her._

_There are some things I never told you. Back in the Fire Nation, when it happened, there are things I should have said, but didn't, and I am so stupid for holding those words in. I miss you so much, so much that sometimes it hurts walking outside and knowing that no matter how many layers I wear, I'll never be as warm as I was with you. So much that I can hardly sleep at night because when I try to fall asleep, my feet are too cold, and my arms are too warm, and my chest is too heavy._

_But I still can't believe that still want you, even after all this time has passed. I should be over this, right? I should be moving on, right? But to tell the truth, I don't know if I can. I don't want to sound clingy, or creepy, or weird, but I feel so weird right now. Even after all we've been through―before and after the war. There were all the times you chased us, all the times we spoke one-on-one when I still considered you the enemy. The time you betrayed us. All the time you spent trying to repair the broken bond._

_And the times after, when I was at the Fire Palace...with you. I can still remember the look on your face when I..._

She trailed off. She had kissed him one day, in the Fire Palace gardens. The turtle-ducks were milling about the pond on that muggy summer's day, and she and Zuko were sitting at the base of the tree, wearing informal attire, similar to what they had worn when they had been in hiding. She didn't know where it came from. She had just felt the random desire to kiss him full on the mouth, and she hadn't really been thinking very well that day anyway. Summer was much warmer in the Fire Nation than in the South Pole, and she had yet to adapt to it, so she just acted on it.

_When I...anyway. I miss that time. And when I was called back to rebuild the South Pole, there were things I should have said, and things that were said that I shouldn't have. The thing is, Zuko...I love you. I have for a while. I should have said it before I left, if only so you could know, but now it's too late, and you're married, and I'll never see you ag―_

Drip, drip.

Katara's grip tightened so hard her knuckles grew white and her nails bit into the skin of her palm, and tears fell from her wide eyes and onto the parchment. She felt the pain but didn't make any move to stop when the blood welled up on her hand and in her bottom lip, the taste of it in her mouth. She had gone farther than usual. She usually only got to the part when she told him about the broken bond, and how it had reformed so well, that now it went deeper than trust, and wouldn't let her go. Katara supposed that it meant it was getting easier, and eventually she would move on.

Katara put the paper away for what felt like the thousandth time, with the rest of the incomplete letters in a packed drawer. She left the dark bedroom, blowing out the flickering candle, and climbed into the bath. She enjoyed the scant moment of peace and happiness wrapped in the arms of warm water and memories.

Song: I Never Told You by Colbie Caillat

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Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA or the song this fiction was based off of.

Yeah. I had to write this after hearing the song on the radio for the first time. When I listened to the lyrics, I was all "OMG, I could totally write this as a Zutara ficlet! YAY"

So I did. I must say, I am quite happy with the outcome. You guys gotta let me know how the ending is, considering how it does end. You know how you can do that? Through a super special awesome review! Sorry if there was any puzzlement at the new chapter! Never mind! I accidentally posted the ficlet without any of this stuff down here at the bottom or that stuff up there at the top. The author's notes. Yeah. But now it is here! Thanks for reading (if you did)! Please Review!


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